“Faced with the urgency of the COVID-19 epidemic, bioMérieux is committed to offering a complete diagnostic solution that meets the highest performance and quality requirements”, indicates MArk Miller, Executive Director of Medical Affairs at the company. A first test, named SARS-CoV-2 R-GENE, produced in Ariège, on the Verniolle site, will have to be approved by the European Commission and will be the subject of an emergency use authorization request from of the United States Medicines Agency. Once CE marked, this test can be produced on an industrial scale in Verniolle, between Foix and Pamiers.
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Formerly “Argene Biosoft”, the Ariège company, specialized in molecular biology, was bought in 2011 by bioMérieux laboratories. At the time, the turnover East already largely accomplished internationally, thanks to distribution subsidiaries established around the globe, representing 10 million euros in 2009. The site, which has existed for more than twenty years, then employs around sixty people.
Nine years later, the workforce is roughly the same. And the Ariégeois’ expertise in pathogen identification tests, recognized worldwide. Since the DNA sequence of the coronavirus was communicated to them in early January, researchers at the Verniolle site have been working hard, in collaboration with their colleagues from another bioMérieux site, in Grenoble. Also, the announcement made today is a source of great pride for all those who have contributed to producing this new test.
4 to 5 hours to get the result
The Verniolle site will be able to produce it on an industrial scale from the end of March, says the group’s headquarters in Lyon. But beware, the test will not be accessible to the general public or to medical offices. “The extraction of DNA and its amplification requires specific equipment, available only to hospitals or specially equipped city laboratories.”
The test must therefore be prescribed by a doctor and it is a healthcare professional who must take the sample from the back of the nose using a swab. “It will take 4 to 5 hours to get the result of this test, it says on the side of bioMérieux. The advantage is that it is a specific test for coronavirus and viruses approaching, which helps identify possible mutations. “
The Verniolle site was already illustrated in research on the H1N1 virus. The putting into circulation ofu test is expected by the end of the month.
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